Thursday, June 3, 2010

satisfying smoothie

Steven and I bought a blender last week. {on sale for $25!} He likes milkshakes, and a one time investment in a blender plus a carton of ice cream every other week is cheaper than driving to buy a milkshake every other night. Don't get me wrong, I like milk shakes, too, but I prefer to dig right in to a big bowl of ice cream!

The night we brought it home I made Steven a milkshake, cleaned the thing, and put it away. {cleaning involves a drop of dish soap, hot water, and a 'clean' button... so awesome!} I went to bed thinking about how I could use it more than a few times a week. The next morning I got up and checked the freezer... I had 3 bags of half-used frozen fruit. Perfect! I looked up what goes into a smoothie- although I had a good idea, I wanted to make sure I didn't do something horribly wrong. After some research, this is how I make very delicious and nutritious a smoothie:

To make two smoothies:
2-3 cups of fruit juice, maybe more if it seems thick {I used V-8 V-Fusion, any flavor you like}
2-3 cups of frozen fruit {I used the mixed berry variety from walmart}
1 banana {I broke it in a couple chunks}
2/3-1 cup of yogurt {I bought a large container of plain vanilla}

I don't actually measure... I just dump stuff in, making sure the frozen fruit and juice look to be the same amounts. I have learned to tell if it needs a little more juice by how it's blending, but it took a couple times. I was thinking about adding some protein powder or something too, but I have never used it before. I'll start my research!

I have been taking them to work with me in my starbucks cup. It's a healthy start to my day, and it keeps me fuller, longer. I don't eat lunch till 1:00, which means less snacking in the afternoon! If I have a little extra, I pour it in a plastic cup, cover it with foil, and freeze it. Makes a nice evening snack.

The peach cocktails I made for dinner on Monday night were just as yummy. I used equal amounts of frozen peaches and Peach Mango V-Fusion juice. To make it a cocktail, I added a little rum - because that's what we had in the pantry. I had planned on using peach schnapps, but discovered it was gone. I would have used vodka over rum given the choice. TMI?